Chapter 317: Your Divine Rank Is Rather Relaxed, But…

Unfortunately, Cloi completely failed to notice the trouble in Ji Ming's expression, and proudly raised her head.

"Yes, sir, as your most loyal werewolf subordinate, I will perfectly complete every task you issue!"

Heavens…

Who taught you this elementary class‑monitor act? I think even Ai Linuo has already raised her emotional intelligence to middle‑school level!

Fine, it's time to handle business now; let's be a bit serious.

But just as Ji Ming strained his aura, preparing to give the next instruction, Cloi suddenly blurted out another line.

"Apologies, Envoy sir, I know this is presumptuous, but are you really okay?"

Ji Ming (electronic voice): "Ah, I…"

The Dragon God and the Lich nearby, seeing this, hurriedly offered their attentions, repeatedly expressing concern.

"Indeed, sir, are you sure you're really fine now?"

Ji Ming (electronic voice): "Ah, this…"

Even the shadow prisoners standing like goons began to stir, pondering whether to emulate the senior's wisdom, crowd over to flatter the new boss, ask if he's truly alright, in case it might improve things later.

This wave, of course, isn't some soft commercial for a plum snack; it's just that Ji Ming actually does have a bit of a problem right now.

Specifically, a cheat opened by some Earth will is a bit too hard; since returning to the Yangyue World, his body has been wildly discharging electricity, and the crackle never stopped!

If he hadn't known this wave would be huge, he wouldn't have chosen to go to the nearly deserted northern part of the dungeon when logging in, instead of the usual behind the curtain, fearing that the chubby fishhead has already turned into a massive cauldron of fish soup.

Even so, the surging electric current instantly blasted a huge crater in the ground, frightening Ji Ming into retreating back to the real world. Using his astonishing wisdom as a university student, he guided Master Wei Er Mo and the others in the Forge Workshop to create a Faraday cage, which allowed the Yangyue World to safely contain him.

Having resolved the most urgent matter, Ji Ming successfully used the system to open his current panel and began troubleshooting.

【Name: Ji Ming】

【Level: 30 (220/760)】

【Race: Pure-blood Human】

【Divine Rank: Perfect Upper God, Life‑Being Sovereign】

【Talents: Wood Element Affinity·Excellent, Holy Light Affinity·Divine Miracle, Thunder Affinity·Divine Miracle MAX Great Completion Perfect Realm Supreme Peak】

【Profession: Official Alchemist】

【Qi/Health: 65】

【Agility: 65】

【Intelligence: 66】

【Charisma: 66】

【Combat Skills】

【Divine Arts: Judgment of the Saint, Life‑Being Divine Might】

【Cultivation Technique: Pure Qi Body‑Nourishing Art·First Turn·Eighteen Layers】

【Free Attribute Points: 2】

【Free Skill Points: 20】

…This is why Ji Ming generally dislikes looking at his own panel; other families either have Heaven‑rewarded tireless effort or a system‑father with countless divine skills, while he only sees a basket of flaws each time.

The most striking thing is that not only does he have one, but he suddenly acquired a second divine rank, and because of these two, the entire page frame is now gilded and bears a faint particle effect, looking quite beautiful, costing a ten‑unit premium in the game.

【Perfect Upper God】 is probably a title set by Earth‑Mother for herself; from now on "Upper God Ji Ming" is legally compliant, allowed by the Upper Realm will to conduct legitimate activities in the mortal world, rather than being a smuggler coaxed by a foolish will… saying that would be embarrassing.

【Life‑Being Sovereign】 is a great gift from the world law of the Yangyue Star upon detecting an upper immortal descending—"Aren't you always calling yourself Life‑Being Sovereign…?" So I present you this position now, just please don't cause a ruckus in our Heavenly Palace; we're all minor gods and can't withstand your massive blade!

However, merely having divine ranks cannot sustain a god's existence; where does This We Will Have Cultivation: Zhen Shen‑level faith power come from…

Those 300,000 Pioneers only managed to smuggle down through Ji Ming's energy; such a dense divine aura, according to world law's judgment, makes them top‑tier zealots—estimating their gold value at 300,000 > 2,000,000 is actually an underestimate.

All of the above is understandable—just matters of rightful authority and social reciprocity; those in the know get it. But this inexplicably extra Thunder Affinity, and it being a divine technique plus a string of modifiers, is truly defying the heavens.

Alright, repeat after me: Life·Being·Sovereign

All life already! I don't ask you to grant a living‑world healer's miracle that revives flesh and bone with a breath of immortal aura; nor do I demand you, as Nüwa reincarnated, to mold clay into humans, granting spirit to every touch of grass, trees, mountains, rivers!

Even the Saint Body of the Son‑Bestowing Heavenly King—just one kiss, one handhold, a cup of milk tea, or even a glance—could intimidate anyone… Though it's indeed absurdly over‑the‑top, it at least counts! At least it truly creates Life‑Being.

So what does your Thunder Affinity mean? Slashing someone to death alive, then reviving them by slashing again—does that count as ruling Life‑Being?

Humor note: The largest‑scale game developer in Earth's history, whose most powerful method so far is electro‑therapy.

The little boss never expected Ji Ming, with a mere level‑30 body, to hold a Yangyue This We Will Have Cultivation: Zhen Shen‑level status, which shocked him for a moment before he typed.

【Savior, I think this is related to your superpower on Earth, right?】

Ji Ming (electronic voice): "That's great, may I ask when I can stop this nuclear‑plant‑like endless discharge?"

【...】

【I'll go ask the Earth adult!】

Moreover, the little boss's explanation cannot account for the extra divine art named 【Life‑Being Divine Might】; Ji Ming skimmed its lengthy accompanying essay… a short paper, and found it entirely describes the various abilities and usage of the Life‑Being Sovereign.

It seems to have many variations—against humans, objects, Life‑Being, and undead—all sorts of methods, but the vast majority involve Thunder power.

Although some involve Holy Light, Ji Ming's Holy Light affinity, even if lower than Thunder, is still at the divine miracle level; forming a divine rank cannot bypass it, which is understandable, so the Life‑Being Sovereign's domain is undoubtedly 【Thunder】.

Beyond that, after the internal‑test battle last night, Ji Ming earned many merits, causing his 《Pure Qi Body‑Nourishing Art》 cultivation to surge, now reaching the nineteenth tier and spawning a heap of Strength‑Agility points.

Thus Strength‑Agility benefits from 《Pure Qi Body‑Nourishing Art》, Intelligence‑Charisma from the Alchemist profession, and the combined boost gives Ji Ming a rather dreamy stat, especially as he thought, since it's already like this, why not keep accelerating, even adding the free attribute points from leveling up to Strength‑Agility.

Strength‑Agility and Intelligence‑Charisma are both 66, perfect!

At that moment, Earth‑Mother contacted Ji Ming through the little boss's message channel.

"Ji Ming, I've roughly found the answer to your problem; what I'm saying is, your divine rank is a bit relaxed, but your energy, on the other hand, makes up for that part."

"If you want to continue remaining mortal, staying at level thirty, it might make your level seem lagging, causing some energy leakage; the best solution now is to give you an existence‑advancement technique while you acquire divine rank."

In short, although Ji Ming's Upper God energy can create and sustain a divine rank, his base level is too low to contain its existence, causing the transmitted energy to leak in various ways.

【Hahaha, that kills me, always letting others leak, and now it's your turn to leak】

"Get out! Get out!"

The lesion was indeed found, but without a solution it's useless; a similar situation never occurred in Yangyue World, and neither the Earth Mother nor the little boss had any suitable method, so they could only toss out a half‑hearted remark.

"Um... let's have another short meeting; for now, just rest in the cage, rawr."

"Huh, rest?"

Even though, thanks to the Faraday cage, his continuous lightning overflow can no longer affect anything outside the cage, sitting amid scorching, exploding bolts of lightning, he truly cannot perform normal actions.

But he can't just rest like that; glancing at the schedule he had prepared in advance, he thought he could start with some brainwork that requires only sitting and commanding, such as…

The raging lightning, like a savage beast, thundered and roared beneath a massive vaulted dome, yet it couldn't harm the lone silhouette within it at all.

His voice, as resonant as a great bell and crackling with electric flavor, pierced every person's ears without any effort.

"Silence, this is merely a manifestation of my power; you need not worry."

This is the northern border of the Underground City; Ji Ming's reason for coming here is simple—he needs to resolve a small problem that has been left unattended for a long time due to inactivity: the undead horde from the ancient battlefield north of here.

But today is the first day of the game's public beta; the Production Team, whether core or new expansion staff, must all take part in game‑related guidance and management, and even Bu Long Fei Er De, who had been goofing off for a month, must symbolically go out and fly two rounds in the Underground World to show his presence, so Ji Ming sending anyone there is simply impossible.

But having no one on hand doesn't mean there's no labor; dragging in Cloi, who could hardly contribute much anyway, Ji Ming arrived at the bustling, unprecedented Battleship Prison.

Because a lot of effort was put into the last righteous mobbing of Lao Yang Tou, the Dragon God and the Lich have been transferred to the highest‑grade cells; they eat and drink as they please, no one comes to pressure them, and aside from being unable to leave the battleship they are practically free—more a temporary warden than a prisoner.

If they remain under observation a while longer, they can officially become new members of the Production Team, contributing their talents to the great cause with utmost enthusiasm and effort.

And to pave the way for his future career, a Lich familiar with the Shadow Church approached Ji Ming, thinking these undead mages still held some recruitment value; as for the fanatics, forget them—their will is steadfast, and even if they succeeded it would be meaningless, their dogs are utterly untrustworthy.

What he got back was a righteous rebuttal from the Messenger.

"Rodrigues, perhaps the Lich's identity has made you forget the preciousness of life, but don't you think depriving others of life over such matters is rather cruel and selfish?"

"Moreover, it's not them who's wrong; it's the Shadow God who deceived them, so I've sealed their thoughts of ending life with Suggestion Technique. If they choose to reform, I'm willing to give them a path."

The Lich was about to ask, "What if they refuse?" but recalled those mercenaries who are still toiling day and night in the mine caves…

And reality proved his conjecture wrong—he had vastly underestimated the situation.

Because the newly arrived prisoners such as Shadow Feather Persons and the Spider Queen not only wear special shackles that suppress Anomaly power, but are also isolated far apart; occasionally diligent players run in to talk to them, hoping to earn rewards based on how successful their persuasion is.

Unfortunately, eloquent talk‑healing experts are few; the vast majority are pure freeloaders seeking guaranteed profit, so one fool after another babbles in front of you, forbidding you to sleep and forcing you to listen. That's not persuasion—it's a form of alternative torture!

No wonder that when word spread that the Messenger intended to conscript a batch of prisoners as combat forces for the northern expedition, almost all Undead Mages and Fanatics eagerly signed up, even more excited than when they were originally dispatched by the Shadow God to Sunlight City for merit.

—They're still alive for a market, jump!

Thus Ji Ming's plan is to use the prisoners of war to expand his territory by force; after all, their survival stems from his own mercy. If he were a bit more evil, these living‑dead hybrids should have already turned into massive experience to boost his level, and they wouldn't still be alive today.

Might as well shine more in the relevant fields and die a fitting death~

With the Messenger personally overseeing the troops, this otherworldly suicide squad works efficiently; no violent coercion is needed, and they all rush headlong into the barren lands north of the Underground City.

If Holy Light Cultivators are the arch‑rivals of the Anomaly, then another Anomaly is the absolute nemesis of the Anomaly.

Especially the Undead Mages who frequently deal with various Anomalies; with their experience they can even use secret arts to control some wavering or half‑dead undead, and with logistical support, these undead unleash combat power far beyond before—a true dark‑enhanced boost.

The Fanatics are even more extreme; they've all undergone special modifications by the Anomaly Council, turning them into bodies perfect for undead possession. Once merged with a fierce ghost, they become unique beings that straddle the living and the Anomaly, and their combat power multiplies.

Thus, when Undead Mages and Fanatics cooperate—one controlling the undead, the other beating the undead—in a recursive loop, the overall combat power snowballs endlessly.

Now, not only Cloi and the Dragon God—whom he's truly never seen—but even Ji Ming can't help but mutter a low 'damn' upon seeing it; so Lao Yang Tou's troop arrangement is this satisfying!?